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THRIVE FROM THE START

Every infant and toddler deserves a safe, stable, and nurturing start in life. That’s why Housing Is has joined forces with  Prevent Child Abuse America, SchoolHouse Connection, and ZERO TO THREE to launch Thrive From The Start—a cross-sector effort dedicated to addressing homelessness among infants, toddlers, and expectant parents. Visit thrivefromthestart.org to learn more and explore how you can be a part of the solution. 

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Housing Is Working Group 2024-2025 Calendar

Join the Housing Is Working Group to discuss special topics related to cross-sector initiatives and programmatic considerations particularly focused on the intersections of housing, health, and education.

This year’s public webinars cover topics such as child welfare and housing, leveraging Medicaid resources for housing services, out-of-school time, and digital connectivity in a post-ACP world. 

View Calendar
 
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Video
Community:
Jun 17, 2022
The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) will moderate a unique cross-sector panel of housing and early care and education (ECE) experts on strategies and best practices for co-locating ECE facilities within affordable housing developments. Discussion of specific financing techniques and site design considerations from existing co-located facilities will provide attendees lessons on policy and programmatic changes needed to incentivize co-location. Panelists include innovators in affordable housing development, government and public sectors, early care and education operations, and community development finance.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, Broadband, Child welfare, CLPHA, Family engagement, Food insecurity, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, School-readiness, Supportive housing, Sustainability
Shared by Karina George on Jun 17, 2022
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News Article
Community: Youth
Feb 1, 2018
Chicago’s troubling homicide rate could be significantly reduced through a massive increase in state spending for Chicago schools. That's just one of the proposals floated Monday by a prominent University of Chicago economist Jens Ludwig. With a substantial commitment, he says homicides could be reduced by nearly 60 percent. Illinois is dead last when it comes to the percentage of education dollars provided by the state to its cities. Ludwig believes adding $1.7 billion dollars would not only bring Illinois up to the national average, but could substantially reduce gun violence as well. Given the social science evidence on the link between high school graduation and gun violence, that would be about a 30 percent decrease in the homicide rates in the city of Chicago for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the city of Chicago policies.

Authored by: FOX 32 CHICAGO
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Education, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Preventative care, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 15, 2020
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Publication
Community:
Jun 11, 2019
The Trump Administration is publicly weighing plans to gradually lower the official poverty line by applying a smaller cost-of-living adjustment each year. Doing so would be unjustified for several reasons.

Authored by: Arloc Sherman and Paul Van de Water for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 11, 2019

Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustment Would Make Poverty Line a Less Accurate Measure of Basic Needs

Publication
Jun 11, 2019
Arloc Sherman and Paul Van de Water for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Trump Administration is publicly weighing plans to gradually lower the official poverty line by applying a smaller cost-of-living adjustment each year. Doing so would be unjustified for several reasons.
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News Article
Community:
Jun 5, 2019
In the United States, more than 2.7 million grandparents report that they’re primarily responsible for their grandchildren under 18. The problem is many are struggling with food insecurity because of federal rules and regulations.

Authored by: Marie C. Gualtieri for Next Avenue
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 11, 2019
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Report
Community:
May 1, 2019
Community eligibility allows high-poverty schools and school districts to offer free meals to all students, and it eliminates the need for household school meal applications. A key piece of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, community eligibility was phased in a few states at a time before it was made available to schools nationwide in the 2014–2015 school year.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Out-of-school time, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 3, 2019
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Report
Community:
Apr 25, 2019
Access to affordable child care can be a major barrier for low-income parents who want to participate in education and training activities to gain skills or obtain employment. Child care assistance from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the federal block grant that funds states to provide child care assistance to low-income families, can help alleviate this barrier and make it easier for low-income parents to participate in activities that improve their skills and lead to stable employment with adequate pay. However, the CCDF eligibility requirements and priorities for service are set at the state level, and states make different decisions about how to allocate scarce CCDF resources, so access to and use of CCDF subsidies for parents seeking education and training varies across states.

Authored by: Semhar Gebrekristos and Gina Adams for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Education, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 30, 2019
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Report
Community:
May 1, 2019
Child poverty is an urgent and preventable crisis. Solutions to child poverty already exist if we just expand and invest in them. Benefits like nutrition assistance, housing vouchers and tax credits helped lift nearly 7 million children out of poverty in 2017, but millions of children were left behind due to inadequate funding, eligibility restrictions and low wages. We can and must fix these problems to help more children escape poverty now.

Authored by: Children's Defense Fund
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 28, 2019
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Video
Community:
May 24, 2019
A landmark National Academies of Sciences report commissioned by Congress concludes that childhood poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half within a decade with appropriate action. The report culls through the existing evidence-base to identify the most impactful existing policies including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and housing assistance. This panel will also discuss promising new policies that if enacted could help reduce poverty such as the child allowance.

Authored by: Housing Is, CLPHA
Topics: Child welfare, CLPHA, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Housing Is on May 24, 2019
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Video
Community:
May 24, 2019
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, long-serving progressive leader and member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, and Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Steering Committee, will give remarks on congressional efforts to reduce child poverty.

Authored by: Housing Is, CLPHA
Topics: Child welfare, CLPHA, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships
Shared by Housing Is on May 24, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 9, 2019
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed its FY2020 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The House bill includes $100 million in FY2020 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. This represents a 7% increase over the FY2019 level; if enacted, it would represent a 30% increase in EHCY funding since FY2017.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on May 15, 2019

House Committee Approves Funding Increase for Homeless Children and Youth

Policy Brief
May 9, 2019
SchoolHouse Connection
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed its FY2020 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The House bill includes $100 million in FY2020 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program.
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Publication
Community:
May 14, 2019
Low- and moderate-income families in Puerto Rico would get a significant income boost from the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would substantially expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Puerto Rico as well as nationally and also help the Commonwealth expand its own, recently implemented Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The bill, which Senators Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, Richard Durbin, and Ron Wyden introduced recently, would reduce poverty and increase economic security for millions of working families in the United States, including Puerto Rico.

Authored by: Javier Balmaceda for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Child welfare, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, U.S. Territories
Shared by Housing Is on May 15, 2019

Working Families Tax Relief Act Would Help Puerto Rico Families

Publication
May 14, 2019
Javier Balmaceda for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Low- and moderate-income families in Puerto Rico would get a significant income boost from the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would substantially expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Puerto Rico as well as nationally and also help the Commonwealth expand its own, recently implemented Earned
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Publication
Community:
Moving Health Care Upstream (MHCU) is based on the belief that health systems can address persistent and costly health inequities by moving “upstream”—beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics and into the communities, collaborating with community-based organizations to address the root causes of disease. The various areas of work within MHCU share a common focus-supporting hospitals and community stakeholders in testing and spreading strategies to move upstream, and sharing “what works” to inform the field and accelerate the upstream movement in the field as a whole. Policy Learning Labs are one example of MHCU’s work to spread knowledge and accelerate action in the field.

Authored by: Nemours, Moving Health Care Upstream, and Change Lab Solutions
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Green, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 1, 2019

Policy Learning Lab Compendium of Research & Technical Assistance Memos

Publication
Nemours, Moving Health Care Upstream, and Change Lab Solutions
Moving Health Care Upstream (MHCU) is based on the belief that health systems can address persistent and costly health inequities by moving “upstream”—beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics and into the communities, collaborating with community-based organizations to address the root causes of di
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Policy Brief
Community:
Congress has an important opportunity in 2019 to improve the health of millions of our nation’s children by passing a strong reauthorization that protects and strengthens the child nutrition programs. These successful, cost-effective federal nutrition programs play a critical role in helping children in low-income families achieve access to child care, educational, and enrichment activities while improving overall nutrition, health, development, and academic achievement.

Authored by: Feeding America and Food Research & Action Center
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Housing Is on May 1, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Housing and land use policies have a significant effect on schools, and since these policies are usually decided at the state and local level, educators and education advocates have the opportunity to play a significant role. Housing and land use policies can affect enrollment trends, concentrations of poverty and school diversity, school funding, stability of enrollment vs. “churning” of students, and ability of students to complete their homework and focus during the school day.

Authored by: National Education Association and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 18, 2019

Housing and Schools: The Importance of Engagement for Educators and Education Advocates

Publication
National Education Association and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Housing and land use policies have a significant effect on schools, and since these policies are usually decided at the state and local level, educators and education advocates have the opportunity to play a significant role.
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Publication
Community:
To better align families’ child welfare and supportive housing needs, child welfare leaders must clearly present their vision for the role of supportive housing as a part of positive child welfare outcomes. State administrators and leaders must consider critical aspects of housing within the Family First IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year State Plan (State Plan) and introduce necessary state policy, legislative, and budgetary changes to ensure that stable, supportive housing is central to long-term family stability and well-being

Authored by: CSH
Topics: Child welfare, Family engagement, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Supportive housing
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 12, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Apr 2, 2019
A group called the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO) Coalition — which includes Callahan’s youth-led ACTION Ohio and the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare — met in early March with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to lay out a plan for a $20 million voucher program aimed at preventing homelessness for transition age foster youth. Under that plan, HUD would use an existing pot of money to provide on-demand vouchers and assistance for foster youth who needed stable housing.” HUD is currently reviewing the proposal to determine the agency’s authority to act on it. If the plan moves forward, it could be a game changer for thousands of teens and young adults who age out of foster care each year.

Authored by: John Kelly for The Chronicle of Social Change
Topics: Child welfare, Foster care, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 2, 2019

Trump Administration Reviewing Plan for Housing Support to Any Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

News Article
Apr 2, 2019
John Kelly for The Chronicle of Social Change
A group called the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO) Coalition — which includes Callahan’s youth-led ACTION Ohio and the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare — met in early March with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to lay out a plan for a $20 million vo
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News Article
Community:
Mar 20, 2019
Low-income immigrant mothers are skipping the chance to get nutritious foods and help for their infants from a federal program because they fear deportation, or the loss of their children, according to the agencies that distribute those benefits.

Authored by: Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019

More moms and kids withdrawing from nutrition program because of deportation fears, administrators say

News Article
Mar 20, 2019
Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
Low-income immigrant mothers are skipping the chance to get nutritious foods and help for their infants from a federal program because they fear deportation, or the loss of their children, according to the agencies that distribute those benefits.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 21, 2019
Reauthorization of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 has been stalled since 2015. Even though the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee reported their respective bills, the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016 (S. 3136) and the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003), neither was acted upon by the full House and Senate. Instead, these programs were extended as part of the FY2016 omnibus appropriations law.

Authored by: Marshall Matz and Roger Szemraj for AgriPulse
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 18, 2019
The Department of Education reports more than 29,000 kids in North Carolina were considered homeless in the 2016-2017 school year. About three-quarters of those are living with other families because it’s too expensive to live on their own. According to Shantiqua Neely, it’s not necessarily because people don’t have jobs. She’s the executive director at A Child’s Place, the organization helps homeless CMS students and families. She said it’s because rent is too expensive.

Authored by: Alex Olgin for WFAE 90.7
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 25, 2019
Increasing numbers of young Americans are unfit for military service. So why is the Trump administration rolling back nutrition standards?

Authored by: Dan Glickman for Roll Call
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition, Obesity
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 12, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 7, 2019
Democrats this week announced new legislation that would slash child poverty by paying low-income parents the kind of monthly allowance that is standard in other developed countries. But the lawmakers who introduced the bill, called the American Family Act, didn’t use the terms “child benefit” or “child allowance” at their Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. Instead, they all called it a tax credit or a tax cut.

Authored by: Arthur Delaney for HuffPost
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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Research
Community:
Mar 8, 2019
The number of kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while several states say it reflects the good news of an improving economy.

Authored by: Michael Ollove for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Child welfare, Early childhood, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 8, 2019

Child Enrollment in Public Health Programs Fell by 600K Last Year

Research
Mar 8, 2019
Michael Ollove for The Pew Charitable Trusts
The number of kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while several states say it refl
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News Article
Community:
Mar 5, 2019
In a recently published report called “A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty” from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, its co-authors suggest policy changes that they claim could cut child poverty in half in just 10 years.

Authored by: Rhonda Fanning and Michael Marks for Texas Standard
Topics: Child welfare, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 7, 2019

New Policy Recommendations Aim To Reduce Child Poverty By Half, Within 10 Years

News Article
Mar 5, 2019
Rhonda Fanning and Michael Marks for Texas Standard
In a recently published report called “A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty” from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, its co-authors suggest policy changes that they claim could cut child poverty in half in just 10 years.
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Interactive
Community:
Federal tax credits, like the EITC and refundable CTC, provide critical supports for millions of working women, children, and families every year. They supplement low wages and can help soften the financial impact of fluctuating incomes or job losses. These credits are especially important for communities of color and women.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 1, 2019

Refundable Tax Credits Are Critical to Reducing Poverty and Hunger For Women, Children, and Families and Should be Expanded

Interactive
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Federal tax credits, like the EITC and refundable CTC, provide critical supports for millions of working women, children, and families every year. They supplement low wages and can help soften the financial impact of fluctuating incomes or job losses.
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Publication
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
In light of the many costs generated by child poverty for the United States, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides evidence-based policy and program packages that could cut the child poverty rate by as much as 50 percent while at the same time increasing employment and earnings among adults living in low-income families.

Authored by: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Topics: Child welfare, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 1, 2019

Child Poverty Rate Could Be Cut in Half in Next Decade Following Proposals in New Expert Report

Publication
Feb 28, 2019
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
In light of the many costs generated by child poverty for the United States, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides evidence-based policy and program packages that could cut the child poverty rate by as much as 50 percent while at the same time incre